Want to hear from the Democratic candidate for Christian County Sheriff? There will be two candidate forums in July. The first one has been organized by concerned citizens and will take place on July 16, 6pm, at the NAPA meeting room in Nixa (west of Hwy 160 and Wasson Road, at 407 N. Old Wilderness Road). The second forum will be on July 21, 6:30pm, at the O.C. in Ozark (located at 1530 W Jackson St, just east of HWY 65 on the South side of W Jackson between Ozark and Empire banks). All candidates (Republican Brad Cole, Democrat Ken Lovell, and Independents Ralph Phillips and Keith Mills) will be attending. We hope you will support our candidate, Ken Lovell, by attending!

At a special meeting of the Christian County Democratic Central Committee (CCDCC), held on May 22, members interviewed Ken Lovell and unanimously voted him to be our candidate for sheriff in the August 4 special election.

Lovell has years of experience in law enforcement, working in Clever, Republic, Branson, and Nixa police departments. He has also been working as Nixa’s school resource officer. He currently owns and runs A Bit of Country K9 Kennel in Nixa.

In addition, Lovell has 18 years of experience in law enforcement and plans on running for sheriff (as a Democrat) again in 2016. He would like to make a difference in our community and bring back professionalism to the office; he believes the department should have better contact with the community.

A fundraiser for Ken Lovell will be held by the CCDCC on Tuesday, June 30 at the Nixa Community Center Pavillon (McCauley Park), from 6-9pm. We hope our fellow Christian County Democrats will support our candidate by attending this event or by donating to his cause.

You will have a choice of ballots: Democrat or Republican. You will have Republicans running on the Republican ballot, and Democrats running on the Democrat ballot.Sample ballots are available online.

Democrat ballots will have Jim Billedo running for the 140th Missouri District unopposed. And there are two Democratic candidates running against Billy Long for the 7th US District (Jim Evans and Genevieve Williams). And if you live Union Chapel Township, two candidates are running for committee man for the Christian County Democratic Central Committee. Here are some of your Republican ballot choices:

The Republican ballot will have two names running for US Representative and the Democrat ballot will have two names. This is the seat Billy Long currently holds, so you have a chance to unseat him!.

For those of you living in the 139th Missouri District (includes Nixa, Clever, Highlandville, and Spokane) the Republican ballot will have 3 choices to replace Kevin Elmer. No Democrat on the Democrat ballot.

On the Republican ballot there will be 3 candidates running for Associate Judge for Division II. No Democrat on the Democrat ballot.

Also only on the Republican ballot there are 5 candidates running for Presiding Commissioner of Christian County, and 2 candidates running for county auditor.

All voters will have the opportunity to say yea or nay to 5 Missouri Constitutional Amendments:

Amendment 1 (Right to Farm): Many believe this would give special protections to large agribusiness over small family farms. Other concerns include food safety, environmental stands, property rights, and animal welfare. [The Humane Society, Missouri Farmers Union, and Food for America are all opposed to this amendment.] If approved, it is likely to be challenged in court because of its vague language.

Amendment 5 (Right to Bear Arms): The right of Missourians to keep and bear arms is already granted in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and in state law. So what will this amendment do? It may make it harder to regulate guns and hinder law enforcement from protecting the public. Since there are already court challenges, it would also mean tax dollars spent fighting court cases.

Amendment 7 (Sales tax for Transportation): This would be the largest tax increase in state history and would fall heavily on the poor and working class. It would make transportation a higher priority than education and mean out-of-state drivers get a free ride through our state. Shouldn’t those using our highways the most pay for improvements?

Amendment 8 (Veteran Lottery Tickets): This proposes a lottery ticket be sold with proceeds going to a Veterans Trust Fund. Some people are questioning how this would affect the funding of education (right now receiving 24 cents of every lottery dollar). The question seems to be whether the welfare of our veterans should have to depend on a lottery?

Amendment 9 (Electronic Data Protection): This amendment would give electronic data the same privacy protections as the possessions inside your home. The U.S. Supreme Court is studying two cases now concerning electronic privacy. Because of the vague language, the consequences of this law are unknown.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE ON THESE ISSUES, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU VOTE ON AUGUST 5TH!(The opinions expressed are those of Polly C. Dross, President of the Democrat Club of Christian County.)